Teachers’ Community of Practice as a Space of Negotiation of Meaning on Problem Solving

Abstract

This article presents results of a research that analyzed negotiation of meaning on Problem Solving that took place in a group of teachers and future mathematics teachers. We use the concept of Community of Practice (Wenger, 2001) to analyze as a group constituted how a teachers' Community of Practice can be configured as a space for negotiation of meaning, considering the interaction between participation and reification processes. Episodes of meetings, which explain discussions on the subject, were chosen and the analysis indicated that there were negotiation of meaning that contributed to the process of teacher education and education of future teachers, which addressed the role of the teacher and students, the development of activities, and conceptions of Problem Solving. The negotiations of meaning occurred in moments of discussion, reflection and sharing of experiences on classroom practices.

Keywords:
Teacher Education; Communities of Practice; Problem solving; Mathematics Education